Colchester City Council Preferred Options Local Plan Regulation 18 Consultation 2025

The following response relates to land to the east of Wakes Hall Business Park, Wakes Colne, proposed as Policy PEP12 within the consultation document.

In summary, the site is deliverable without any insuperable constraints. As such, our clients support the continued allocation of the site within the emerging Local Plan.

The site comprises an area of approximately 0.86ha, and is almost entirely surrounded by trees. Despite this, it is located immediately to the east of the existing business park, and shares an existing access with the park. It is well screened from most external viewpoints, and can be developed with little impact on surrounding users.

The site is immediately adjacent to the existing Wakes Hall Business Centre, which comprises some 29,000 sq all occupied by various business’s including Chiropractor, Beauty Therapy, Colchester Brewery, automatic door installers, web company, driver testing for people who have had strokes, financial service company, resin flooring installer, Lapsafe manufacturer for laptops, and engineering consultants. At the last
survey undertaken by the owners 28 people travelled to work in a 4-mile radius of the Business Centre some using the Bus, utilizing the Bus Stops on the A1244 immediately outside the Business Centre.


Policy PEP12 states that land at Wakes Hall Business Centre, as shown on the policies map, is allocated for employment uses in accordance with Policy E1. It goes onto stress that in addition to the infrastructure and mitigation requirements identified in Policy ST7 and subject to compliance with all other policies, proposals for employment uses will be supported on land within the area identified on the policies map which accord with Policy E1 provided a number of requirements are met. These are as follows, with our response in bold:

a) Safe pedestrian access to ensure connectivity between the site and existing footways and to maximise opportunities for enhanced connectivity to the surrounding area.

The site can be linked with surrounding footpaths and the landowner also owns and controls large areas of surrounding land;

b) Safe and suitable site access to required highway design standards and point of vehicle access to be agreed with the Highway Authority and demonstration that proposal would not be detrimental to highway capacity.

The existing access to the Business park has been designed to permit future expansion and therefore the existing access can be utilised. This will be the subject of a technical report that would accompany a future application;
c) Development must conserve, and where appropriate, enhance the significance of heritage assets (including any contribution made by their settings). Designated heritage assets close to the allocated site includes Wakes Colne Conservation Area, seven Grade II and one Grade II* Listed Building as informed by the stage 1 HIA.

Many of these buildings and the conservation area are distant from the site and would nt be affected. To the south east of the site is the grade 2 listed Wakes Colne House which is entirely screened by existing vegetation, whilst to the south west and west are the Gate Lodge and cart lodge to Wakes Hall, together with the Hall itself. These are subject to intervening buildings and existing vegetation such that they will not be affected.

d) Promote the use of natural screening through the retention of existing trees and hedgerows and incorporation of new native features.

These will be retained and enhanced where necessary.

e) Liaise with ECC as the Minerals and Waste Planning Authority on waste matters.

This will be undertaken if appropriate.

The landowner looks forward to working positively with the City Council as the Local Plan advances.

The following response relates to land to the west of Station Road, Wakes Colne, proposed as Policy PP28 within the consultation document.

In summary, our clients have positively engaged with the Council to show that the site is deliverable without any insuperable constraints. As such, our clients support the continued allocation of the site within the emerging Local Plan draft policy PP28.

The purpose of this response in supporting the allocation is to evidence the work that we have undertaken in progressing the planning of the site and to demonstrate deliverability.

Attached with this response as Appendix 1 is a Vision Statement which has been prepared by Bluepencil Designs, Chartered Architects to set out the design intent for the development of the allocated land. In addition are a drainage report prepared by Anglian Water, together a proposed road layout for the bypass prepared by Ardent Consultant Engineers, Appendix 2. These will be summarized below.

In addition the following will also review ecology and landscape, heritage, drainage, transport, viability, engagement, and potential Section 106 headings.

The Site

The site subject of the allocation comprises approximately 16.8 hectares in single ownership by H C Percival Farms, and which is primarily in agricultural use. It comprises 2 broad land parcels to the north and south. To the south of the northern parcel and east of the southern parcel is existing residential development, with hedgerows and trees on the majority of the boundaries except for the southern parcel where the western allocation boundary run through existing agricultural land. This will be defined by advance planting once the alignment of the bypass is agreed.

To the north of the northern parcel is Acorn Wood, with Station Road along the eastern boundary, beyond which is the rail station, with services once an hour on average 7 days a week between Sudbury and Marks Tey. The latter connects with the main Norwich to London services.

To the south of the southern parcel is the A1124 which links Colchester to the south east with Halstead in the north west. In general the whole of the allocated land falls from the north to the south.
Land to the south of the A1124 fall within flood zones 2 and 3, but the allocated site falls within flood zone 1.

Design and Mix/Tenures

As set out in the attached Vision Statement, and as required by part a) of the draft policy the site is capable of accommodating 200 units at a density of just under 30 dwellings per hectare. This permits a mix of densities within the scheme but importantly not at densities that require more than 2 storey forms or an excess provision of flats. In particular, it allows for lower densities on the edges creating a landscape framework for the development of the site, maintaining its rural character.

The Vision Statement shows a broad design approach to the layout, with the provision in addition to housing of substantial open space and sports provision, in addition to drainage controls and a new bypass which will be detailed below.

The scheme will meet a range of housing needs to be agreed with the Council’s housing officer prior to the submission of an application, and will meet the Council’s affordable housing requirements. Importantly it will also include a proportion of housing for local housing needs, generated via a community or local housing trust. This has been discussed with both the Parish Councils in principle, and the landowner has also been in discussion with the developers who delivered the award-winning Lawford Housing Enterprise Trust.

Highways

Parts b), c) and d) of the proposed policy require that safe and suitable site access to required highway design standards and point of vehicle access, and to include provision of a link road between Station Road and the A1124 and stopping access along Station Road to through traffic.

It also requires the creation of an enhanced pedestrian priority route along the lower section of Station Road (where through traffic is restricted) to provide a safe route to the railway station, and finally to provide a safe pedestrian access to ensure connectivity within and throughout the site to existing footways and any public rights of way, particularly to the southwest of the site, together with provision of green infrastructure connections and recreational access to the countryside.

A key part of the proposals is the new bypass road which has been designed by Ardent Consultant Engineers and which enable links to the existing A1124 and Station Road to be designed to appropriate standards. Relevant technical details for the junctions and road specification are shown on the drawing.

In relation to other aspects, the drawing also initiates ideas on the following:

• potential change of priority for station road to cut off through
traffic and divert vehicles through the development spine road;
• signage to indicate station access and deter through route;
• potential to downgrade access junction to deter through route movements;
• potential to provide white lining extent of circa 1.2m footway within carriageway beyond the southern extent of the existing footway;
• station road to be pedestrianised and deter through route movements, details to be agreed with ECC;
• potential to upgrade southern A1124 crossing point with a proposed raised crossing point across junction (dropped kerbs and tactile paving).

The above are initial thoughts and will be the subject of further discussions with the Parish Councils and local community, together with ECC Highways. With regard to the latter, a draft pre-application request has been drafted.

Landscape

Parts e) and g) of the policy require that mature trees and hedgerows within the site should be retained, and that screening comprising locally appropriate hedgerows and/or woodland will be required along the site boundaries to ensure that development is sensitively integrated into the landscape to reflect and reinforce rural character.

The landowner has appointed David Jarvis Associates to prepare an assessment and LVIA in order to inform a detailed landscape strategy for the site. This will ensure the retention of trees and hedges on site boundaries, as well as substantial new landscaping both the establish an appropriately designed western boundary for the southern parcel, as well as within the site to create character and a landscape led approach to the overall design.

Ecology and BNG

Parts f) and i) require that onsite BNG measures should focus on buffering and extending the adjacent Acorn Wood LoWS and strengthening north to south connectivity which is identified as an important ecological corridor, and to identify suitable grassland creation. In particular it identifies that support will be given to delivering standing freshwater, woodland or grassland habitat to support the delivery of the strategic creation opportunities in the Essex LNRS.

The scheme includes the potential to extend Acorn Wood if required as well as to ensure appropriate management. It also includes areas of open space and grassland, as well as north -south planting to reinforce ecological connectivity. These matters are being explored and a survey undertaken of Acorn Wood by the Council has been requested.

Open Space

Part h) of the draft policy requires that 'Enhanced Open Space' substantively in excess of 10% of the allocation area must be provided as open space. This should include approximately 8 hectares within the site to provide recreation, community and BNG uses.

The proposed layout attached shows 8.12ha of open space, with in addition 0.82ha of SuDS/pond features, and existing and proposed landscaping.

Heritage

Part j) requires that development must conserve, and where appropriate, enhance the significance of heritage assets (including any contribution made by their settings). It states that designated heritage assets close to the allocated site includes A Conservation Area, eighteen Grade II, three Grade II*, one Grade I Listed Building and one Scheduled Monument as informed by the stage 1 HIA.

The location of these are all outside of the site and can be considered to be mitigated where required. A future application will include a heritage assessment to ensure that this requirement is met.

Drainage

Parts k) and l) of the draft policy require the demonstration of adequate capacity for managing wastewater including proposed phasing requirements or alternative solutions to the satisfaction of the Council and Anglian Water, together with a range of measures in addition to prioritising SuDs (Policy EN8) and water efficiency measures to reduce the risk on impact on the WRC capacity as a result of planned growth.

The details of this will be part of an application submission. However, the landowner has already commissioned a Pre-Planning Assessment Report from Anglian Water in April 2025 (Appendix 3) which is attached with this response.

This concludes that water supply connections are available, and that the site is within the catchment of Earls Colne water recycling centre (WRC), which currently can accommodate the additional flows generated by the proposed development. Earls Colne WRC is included within AWs Business Plan as a named growth scheme with investment delivery planned between 2025-2030. AW state that to ensure there is no pollution or deterioration in the receiving watercourse due to the development foul flows they recommend a planning condition is applied if permission is granted.

In terms of SuDS, it is clear that there is sufficient land within the scheme to ensure that an onsite solution can be proposed, and the draft layout plan within the Vision Statement includes a detention basin at the lowest point, as well as other smaller potential ponds/SuDs features within the development.

Section 106 Heads

Part m) of the draft policy requires that any site specific infrastructure requirements from the IDP (likely to include education provision, highway mitigation, water and wastewater and specific community / open space provision) should be provided by agreement.

Our research shows that in terms of education, the current Essex County Education School Organisational Plan shows the following for primary schools. They do not provide details on individual schools, rather group them together on an area basis for planning purposes. However, from Appendix 4 which provides background information on school and health capacity, which is being kept under review, there is capacity of between 26 and 39 pupils over the next 10 years.

Assuming the site is capable of delivering the 200 dwellings anticipated by Colchester and assuming 25% flats, this would generate 53 primary school places. As such there is not a number to justify a new school, but Essex Education would be looking for a contribution to fund the extra places needed above existing and predicted capacity.

In terms of secondary education, the figures from Essex Education show pupil generation on the basis of the assumptions above from the development would equate to 20 extra secondary school places, and there is clearly capacity.

In terms of GP surgeries, the position is as set out in appendix 4. It should be noted that the recommended patient list size per GP in most recent correspondence from NHS is 1750 patients.

According to our research there is current capacity in catchment GP surgeries, but the exact position will vary over time and be determined at application stage in liaison with the NHS.

Draft policy ST7 requires that all development must be supported by the provision of infrastructure, services and facilities that are identified as being needed to serve the needs arising from the development, and that permission will only be granted if it can be demonstrated that there is sufficient and appropriate infrastructure capacity to support the development or that such capacity will be delivered by the proposal.

It must further be demonstrated that all necessary infrastructure will be delivered at an appropriate time to meet the requirements of the development, and that such capacity will prove sustainable over time in physical and financial terms.

The landowner is willing to provide affordable housing in accordance with policy at the relevant time, as well as open space, new bypass, and any other policy requirements.

The viability of the site has been tested by Newmark consultants on behalf of Colchester City Council, and they have met with the landowners to discuss the details of the site. They are content that the site is viable despite the cost of the bypass and other policy requirements. This will continue to be the subject of review.

Community Engagement

The landowner and his advisors met with the Parish Councils at a joint meeting on 13th October, and have maintained a dialogue. The Parish Councils held an initial drop in exhibition with the community on 6th December. At this stage there was little to share in terms of a design except for the initial sketch provided at Call for Sites stage, and the draft bypass plan supplied with this response.

With regard to the latter, a note was displayed which stated that “The landowner and his advisors produced this initial sketch layout to help officers of the district council at the call for sites stage. The parish councils have met with the landowner who has agreed to work up the proposals in more detail and to hold a separate exhibition once complete. However, they are to hear from local residents on relevant matters that could be taken into account in drafting the proposal. It is likely that an exhibition will take place in February 2026.”

A note of initial comments made by residents is being considered by the landowners and their advisors. There is nothing fundamental in the feedback that we do not consider can be addressed, and a further exhibition is being scheduled for February. The results of this will be sent through to policy officers at the City Council.

Conclusions

As a consequence of the above, the site is clearly available and suitable for the scale and location of development proposed within draft Policy PP28 and is deliverable within a reasonable timescale to be able to contribute positively to the housing and related needs of the Local Plan.